Civic Society of St Ives Annual Report 2013 THE CIVIC SOCIETY OF ST IVES The Civic Society of St Ives was formed in 1968 to fight the pro- posed plans to route the St Ives Bypass down Ramsey Road, across The Waits, Holt Island and Hemingford Meadow. The siting of the St Ives Bypass as it is today is a result of our ear- ly campaigns. The Society continues to care for the beauty and character of the town, as well as working to stimulate public interest in civic mat- ters and to provide an information service for those who wish to know more about the town’s history and development, and of the surrounding area. Its web-site can be found at: www.stivescivic.org.uk The society is a member of: The Campaign to Protect Rural England www.cpre.org.uk and The Cambridge Antiquarian Society www.camantsoc.org 2 CONTENTS The Civic Society of St Ives—Its Aims 2 Chairman’s Report 4 Annual Accounts 6 Treasurer’s Report 8 Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting—2012 10 Annual General Meeting 2013—Agenda 14 Summary of Talks 2012—2013 15 Programme of Talks 2013—2014 24 Civic Society visit to Houghton Hall 38 Hidden History of St Ives Parish Church Hall 43 History Presentation Boards 47 Thomas Hodgson Liddell 48 3 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT It scarcely seems a year since the last Report was written and once again I am writing it in July to allow time for compilation, printing and distribution for our AGM in October. The first item is one of thanks to you all for your continued support of the Civic Society. It would be impossible to run your Society without your enthusiasm, subscriptions (due in September) and attendance at our monthly Meetings. We have had a busy year with many of our activities involving work with other organisations including Local Government. This has been done without losing sight of our aims – to conserve and preserve our heritage whilst raising public awareness of the Town’s history and surrounding countryside. This does not mean that we are a Society preserved in formaldehyde – far from it. We rec- ognise the inevitability of change and seek to influence it in a way which al- lows us to meet our aims. However, if challenge becomes inevitable then we will take it on in a dignified yet forthright manner which traditionally goes back over 40 years (please see the later article on the original St Ives Bypass). Many will remember Bob Burn-Murdoch MBE retiring at the turn of the year. We contributed to his farewell by appointing him a Life President of our Socie- ty. We also joined with the Friends of the Norris Museum in presenting him with an original painting of one of his favourite views of St Ives commissioned from Richard Bolton. Helen Giles is now the Curator and is setting about ex- tending the premises in a most innovative but traditional manner. We currently stand at the beginning of an era of great change. The HDC Lo- cal Plan to 2036 projects limited Brown Site building in and around Town but also includes up to 4000 houses being built at RAF Wyton. Whilst there will be geographic separation from the Town, the affects will be felt by us all. We have serious concerns about roads, drainage and sewage and have repre- sented these concerns to Local Government. We will continue to press for acceptable solutions which protect the Town from over-saturation of traffic and take account of the fragile drainage and sewage system. For the time being and, I hope the future, we have found that working with Local Government has produced many benefits. Some of our work has been diplomatic prodding and some has been more direct. We have been pleased to have our views welcomed, accepted and actioned. We should certainly not claim all the credit but we have had a benign influence on the following: The completion of the refurbishment of the New Bridges (CCC) The restoration of the damaged Priory Barn wall (HDC Conservation Team) 4 Further work on the Old Bridge Chapel (CCC) Refurbishment of the Old Bridge lighting (TC & CCC) A new development within our Society has been the birth of the St Ives Ar- chaeology Group (STAG). The synergy amongst our Society, the Norris Mu- seum and STAG is plain and most welcome. Our Involvement with the Town Team continues. Currently we are working with the Team and Town Council to establish and categorise the footpaths in and around Town. Once designated, Groups and volunteers will walk the routes and report on their condition. The resulting information will be sent to Local Government for action. This is only one example of the many actions taken by the Town Team. You may have heard of J D Wetherspoons making a bid for the Warehouse Clearance Shop. Potentially the introduction of such a facility, whilst popular with some, carries a serious threat to the pubs and restaurants in the Town. Many of these operate in Listed Buildings and harsh economic competition on a national scale could result in reduced maintenance or even closure. I for one do not relish walking past boarded-up Listed Buildings either by day or night. On a happier note we enjoyed a unique visit to Houghton Hall in Norfolk. It was a marvellous opportunity to see magnificent paintings restored to their original setting of 234 years ago when the Walpole family sold them to Kathe- rine the Great. I will finish as I started – by saying thank you to your Committee for their hard work and dedication. They are: Pat Allan Basil Belcher Helen Eveleigh Peter Newbould Richard Probyn Barbara Richmond Peggy Seamark David Stewart Barry Wills Abi Luter (our Minute-Taker) and Brian Richmond (Webmaster). Thank you for reading this and enjoy the rest of the report. Peter Baker Chairman 5 Civic Society of St Ives Statement of Income & Expenditure as at 30th April 2013 Income Expenditure Year to Year Year to Year 29/04/13 2012 29/04/13 2012 £ £ £ £ Subscriptions/Donations 2,951 2,796 Hall Hire 403 362 Slepe Hall Donations 590 0 Annual Report 678 785 Visitors 72 69 Speakers 332 275 Memorial Fund 0 4,064 Memorial Fund 0 3,905 Social Evenings 222 325 Social Evenings 293 292 Raffle 76 298 115 440 Raffle 50 343 56 348 Interest 7 Insurance 200 200 Gift Aid 583 340 Antiquarian Soc Subs 13 13 Heritage Weekend 129 40 CPRE Subs 34 34 Trips 2,060 0 Trips 960 100 Falklands Talk 229 Carnival Stall 2011 0 10 Jubilee Beer 585 Donations/Gifts 2,775 367 Administration 440 351 Postage 120 46 Phone 72 32 Travel 0 Web Site 24 656 40 469 Heritage Weekend 96 108 £ 7,497 7,756 6,490 6,976 Balances from Balances at 30 April 2012 30 April 2013 Current account 3,721 Current account 4,770 Deposit Account 6,709 Deposit Account 6,714 Total 10,430 Total 11,484 add Surplus for year 1,007 add Deposit Account Interest 5 Receipts after Period end 0 Total 11,442 less less Cheques yet to be 2012 Payments 484 presented 525 £ 10,958 £ 10,958 6 Report to the Trustees & Members of The Civic Society of St Ives, Chari- ty No 257286, on the Accounts for the year ended 30th April 2013 which are set out on the attached. Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under sec- tion 144 of the Charities Act 2011(the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to Examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, To follow procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act), and To state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of independent examiner’s statement My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the account- ing records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or dis- closures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concern- ing any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evi- dence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is giv- en as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent examiner’s statement In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: (1) Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in , any material respect, the requirements: a. To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act 7 b. To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or (2) To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to ena- ble a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed : D McGoff ACIB BSC (Open) Date 20th July 2013 Name Dianne McGoff BSc (Open) 4 Seathwaite, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 6NY TREASURER’S REPORT 2013 The year’s accounts have been independently examined and approved. The Examiner’s report and statement precedes this report.